Thursday, April 18, 2013

Poetry Party for Kids

poetry for kids
Celebrate National Poetry Month with a Poetry Party!   Here are our ideas:

FOOD
Print out a Poetic Menu for each guest (above).  This simple menu gives you some creative license as to what you will serve.  We suggest Pink Lemonade or Strawberry Soda for "Something Pink to Drink", Purple Cabbage Coleslaw with Blueberries for "Something Blue to Chew", Hot dogs and Hamburgers for "Something to eat that doesn't smell like feet" and Alphabet Cupcakes for "Something made of flour for you to devour".  
alphabet cupcakes

Above is an Alphabet Candy Chart from Food Network magazine.  Frosting will suffice if you don't have the proper candy to form every letter.  

We also have Poetic Labels for the food that you can download and print (shown at top of page).

GAMES AND ACTIVITIES

Body Poetry.  You can find this Body Poetry Game at Amazon

kids games
Poetry Confetti.  Cut strips of paper and write random words on each strip.  Gather the strips into a ball and release into the air.  Have each child collect 5 strips and create a poem out of the words.

Pass the Poem.  Each child writes a sentence on a piece of paper.  Everyone then gathers in a circle.  A child is chosen to start.  That child reads her sentence, followed by the child to her right all the way around the circle.  At the end of the game, assemble the poem on a cork board.

For other ideas, Poetry Patterns is a great resource

teach kids poetry
READING CIRCLE
Have the kids gather round in beanbags, rocking chairs, hammocks...whatever is comfy.  They'll love listening to poems.  Knock at a Star, A Children's Introduction to Poetry groups poems into categories such as "Make You Smile", "Start You Wondering" and "Help You Understand People".

poetry for children

POEMS SET TO MUSIC

Carla Bruni's album No Promises  features music set to poetry by Emily Dickinson, W.B. Yeats, W.H. Auden and more.

Another good choice is H.M.S. Donovan by Donovan.  Here you will find Jaberwocky by T.S. Elliot.

No comments:

Post a Comment